Forty Deuce

Pic This: "No Really, My Backhand's Much Better Now."

Confirmed: I Do Not Like Rational!JJ

JJ confirms she won't be playing any warm-up tournaments (other than the HK Exhibition) before AO 09. 

Totally reasonable and understandable.  Two words I'm not accustomed to using around JJ.

Belgrade Won't Put A Ring On It

God I love that video.  So ridiculous. 

It's official.  The Serbian Sisters are bigger than Beyonce. 

Well, at least in Serbia.

Beyonce was planning to do a concert in Belgrade in April but it's now been canceled because they might need Belgrade Arena for the second round of Fed Cup.

Now I totally have the image of Ana and JJ flanking Beyonce in that video.  And JJ pushing Beyonce out of the way to take center stage. 

Pic This: Yee Haw!

Memo To K-Swiss: Two Words -- Hot. Pink.

According to Neil Harman, The Muzz might be ditching the iconic but super boring Fred Perry and aligning forces with K Swiss.

Andy Murray is poised to relinquish his association with the most recognised name in British tennis history. It is understood that the British No 1 intends to start wearing the clothes and shoes of the K-Swiss company next year, ending his deal with Fred Perry, the company that identified him as a future prospect when he became the US Open junior champion in 2004 and has supported him ever since.

Murray has stayed loyal to the Perry name but it is believed that the time has come for him to break away from a traditional company and join one that may offer more lucrative benefits and that, famously, once clothed Anna Kournikova.

The deal with K-Swiss is believed to be worth $3 million (about £2 million) and will be announced when Murray plays in an exhibition event over the new year period in Abu Dhabi with Rafael Nadal, the Wimbledon champion and world No 1, and Roger Federer, among others. From there, Murray is scheduled to play in a tour event in Doha before the Australian Open, which begins on January 19. Murray is among the hottest properties in the world game and it was assumed that the two leading companies, Nike and adidas, might bid for his services but it is clear that K-Swiss has recognised his rise in terms of both rankings and publicity as a means of improving its portfolio.

Nike and Adidas were never going to take him, seeing as how they already have the top three guys locked up.  I'm surprised that Reebok didn't make more a run for him, seeing as how they don't have any marquee men's players.  But I like K Swiss.  They did a heck of a job revamping Bepa, here's hoping they'll do the same for Andy. 

At least they're not afraid of color.  And as we all know, neither is Andy.

Fail.

Masha schilling Tiffany's this week in NYC.


Only Masha would try and upstage the beautiful blue boxes with that ridiculous hair:


At first I had a heart attack because I thought she cut it. 
But I don't think she did (it's hard to tell from the pics).  Either way, it's not looking great.
(Pics from Women's Tennis Photos)

Golden

Part 2 of Tignor's Spotlight on Steffi, this time focusing on the year of her Golden Slam, which is arguably the greatest season by any tennis player, man or woman.

Some of my favorite Tignor observations:

—Graf’s game: Was it more influential on men’s tennis than women’s? Is there anyone who followed in her serve-forehand footsteps on the WTA side? Her forehand was certainly one of a kind: Late take-back, late contact point, quick whip into the follow through—as I’ve said before, it was one shot that had the force of nature.

—Watching Graf and Becker as teens, I’d say they what they had in common the most was a sort of hell-bent all-court fearlessness that briefly broke down old divisions in the sport. Becker hurled his body all over the place and right through the barrier between baseliner and net-rusher. He was both at once. Graf broke down the idea of “changing the direction of the ball.” She ran around her forehand as much as any woman I can remember, and in doing that she developed the ability to hit it from anywhere, to anywhere, at any time.

—I do miss the twirly, painterly quality of Sabatini’s ground strokes, and that slow John Wayne walk she did between points. You can see her trying to slow Graf’s tempo. That’s a lost cause. Steffi still kept an extra ball in her hand when she served; she didn’t stop for a drink, or for anything, during the change of ends in the tiebreaker; and even on crucial points she refused to take an extra second before serving.

What A Sporty Little Couple

So basically, AnaFer love playing tennis, watching tennis, and watching soccer.  They were in Madrid again yesterday watching the Real Madrid match, though this time, RM actually won in their presence.  I for one can't really poke fun at their inability to get away from sports, as I find sports to be the ultimate aphrodisiac.  Seriously, Sportscenter is like porn for me.

Anywho, here's some video of the happy couple leaving the match.  Ana clearly wants to get the hail out of dodge.

Thanks to Kiki and babypanda, Forty Deuce's resident Ana stalkers ;)

Oh Dear God. LET. IT. GO.

Lindsay's entered the Australian Open. 

*insert hard core eye roll*

What's The Deal w/ Domi Cibulkova?

Dominika Cibulkova received the Slovakian POY award this past weekend.  Kind of weird to think she's now the Slovakian #1.  Sorry Dani.

But seriously, what's her deal?  I can't figure out if I like her or kind of hate her.  On one hand, she's a little jack rabbit who runs everything down and does a pretty good job of holding her own against players twice her size.  On the other hand, she seems to know how cute she is and works that angle a bit too much in my opinion. 

Also, she's dating this guy:

So yeah.  I guess I kind of hate her a little bit.  I can't put my finger on it but she's kind of annoying.  This is 100% baseless but I can't help it.

Pic This: I Was Totally Kidding, JJ, I SWEAR

I'm...Speechless.

Loyal Forty Deucer Carrie asked a somewhat rhetorical question yesterday in response to news that JJ was training while Ana was flitting about with her boy toy:

"Is it opposite day?"

Yes, Carrie.  Yes it is.  Check out these pics of the Winter Adilibria Edge line (Ana's line) from Adidas:

Ignoring the yellow color of the cap sleeve top (it comes in white, too) I FLOVE this stuff.  Adidas is basically reinterpreting Stella McCartney's Adidas gear and making it less runway and more court sensible.  It looks fantastic and is SO MUCH BETTER than the crap that Nike has lined up for the new season, which you can see here.

Are we really about to see Adidas ou style Nike?  WHAT WORLD DO WE LIVE IN???

Tiny Fuzzy Pictures Are Pictures Nonetheless

Baby E continues her whirlwind romance with Fer, this time coming with him to
Ferrol and hanging out with his family.


She's huge!


Awww.  Holding hands with the baby sister is SUCH a good girlfriend move.


Girl, you are SO in!
(Pics from WTA Women's Tennis Blog)

Deutschland, Deutschland! Ja Ja Ja!

If there is one odd quick about me that always seems to take people by surprise, it's my very serious love of (almost) all things German.  Basically my parents met in Germany and went to university there, and have passed on all the German traditions on to my sister and I.  I drive a German car, have a German knife set, speak German, worship at the altars of Juergen Klinsman and Michael Ballack, and just three days ago had a dinner of wienerschnizel, spaetzle, and reibekuchen all washed down by a cold Radler.  Schmeckt Gut!

All this is to say, duh!  I love Steffi and Boom Boom.  Always have, always will.

Much to my joy, Steve Tignor is doing a fun series of pieces on them using YouTube clips of their playing days:

“In your face” was one of the mantras of the 1980s. This unsubtle era was bent on erasing all vestiges of the touchy-feely decades that had preceded it. The 80s gave us Mike Tyson, they gave us NWA, they voted Margaret Thatcher their MVP. You might have thought the ivory-towered world of tennis would have remained above this particular cultural fray, but you’d have been wrong. John McEnroe, the most in-your-face athlete of all, became the biggest name in the game just as the 80s began.

The trend didn’t end with Johnny Mac’s terrorization of the All England Club. The decade’s real legacy, as far as how the game is played, came four years later with the seismic shift toward power and explosive athleticism—in your face tennis was here, and it was here to stay. What now seems odd, at least to me, is that the earliest harbingers of this transformation were two teenagers, Steffi Graf and Boris Becker, who had grown up at the same time and in the same obscure place, the suburbs of Heidelberg, West Germany. What was in the water over there?

Two Germans at once; two Belgian women at once; three Serbs at once—is there any explanation for tennis’ seemingly random nationalistic surges? West Germany hadn’t had a No. 1 player on either tour during the Open era. Then, within about 24 months, they produced two players who would change the sport forever. Graf and Becker had even practiced together as kids. “I used to be the worst in the boys and she used to be the best in the girls,” Becker said of Graf, “and I all the time had to hit with her.” They taught each other something special.

Check out the rest of the piece, which has some cool links to their early playing days when they splashed on the scene.  Awesomeness.

Boyfriend Jon Puts 2008 In The Bag

I bet he used a reusable canvas bag, too, cuz that's how Boyfriend rolls.

Boyfriend hands out his 2008 Awards, and there are no real shockers, although even though I understand the argument I still can't get behind Venus as POY.  Here's BF's short summary of the year, which I think pretty much captures it:

The sport [was] up to its usual tricks this year, serving up jarring plot twists (Justine Henin, the top WTA player, abruptly retiring), relentless melodrama, and enough mutually destructive in-fighting and finger-pointing to shame the post-election McCain and Palin camps.

In the end, though -- and it's ever thus -- order trumped chaos and the year was marked by excellence. Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played, and finally wrested away the top ranking. Forever answering those pesky questions about his mettle, Federer recovered to win the U.S. Open, salvaging his season and putting his assault on Mt. Sampras back on schedule for 2009. The Williams sisters continued to triumph in their unconventional way, each winning another Major. Tiny Serbia lay claim to three of the world's top ten players.

Pic This: Muzz Just Got WAY Sexier

So wrong, it's right.

Joel Drucker Says "Meh"

Joel is not that impressed with Rafa.  But shouldn't he take into consideration the context in which Rafa was able to do what he did?  He chased down the GOAT.  That's gotta be worth something, no?

Food for thought.

Do Brits Seriously Have The Genetic Inability To Tan?

The Muzz is working hard in Miami right now in preparation for the new season. 

Seeing all these pictures makes me wonder: Is he the hardest working man in tennis?  I just can't imagine the other guys putting their bodies through some of these drills.  That's him doing chin-ups with a 10kg weight attached to his waist, running 10 sets of 400m, and 12 sets of 200m.  Interval training is puketastic.

And let's face it.  The dude is absolutely ripped in a way that puts even Rafa to shame.  I know, that might be blasphemy, but it's true.  There is not an ounce of fat on this kid.

His regular lunch diet of two trays of spicy tuna sushi and a smoothie.

 

Good Lord he is one pasty Muzza Effa.

But don't worry, he's getting some fun time in. 

Playing footie with the UM women's soccer team.

Karaoke.  Apparently he rocks "Losing My Religion," which is just SO appropriate.

And petting cute dogs.

We're Not The Only Ones Confused

Tom Tebbutt weighs in on the upcoming changes to the ATP and WTA tour. 

Reading the ATP summary makes me actually glad I follow the WTA more.  I have no idea what all those proposals mean and why the tour finds them necessary.  Putting shit on the nets???  I saw them experiment with this at Indian Wells during a practice session with Fed and Rafa and it was the most distractingly ugly thing ever.

Interesting proposal for an alternative to on court coaching:

Having been around tennis for many years, it strikes me that there is a better option if the WTA Tour is so insistent about getting this additional access to the players. Instead of the whole rigaramole of coaches going out onto the court, why not simply slip a headset on the player winning the set and have her talk directly to the television commentators doing the match. This may seem intrusive to some - but who would have believed 10 years ago that players would now be doing interviews on their way out to play the final of Wimbledon, as well as before many other important matches during the year?

That is now commonplace and players have become increasingly aware of the need to give more of themselves for the greater good of the sport. There is a two-minute break at the end of a set – why not just have the winner (the loser is usually of no mind to talk) just answer a couple of basic questions about how they feel, the match, playing conditions, etc. etc. It seems to me that an end-of-set interview might even be easier for a player than having to do one right before going on court when she is probably feeling her most nervous and incommunicative, trying to get into the right head space for the match.

The quick on-court interview would do away with the charade of a coach traipsing out onto the court, avoid the invasion of the privileged conversations between coach and player, maintain the tradition of players having to coach themselves on the court and, most of the time, assure that the language used for the conversation (generally English) would be understood by television viewers.

Meh.  I'd rather watch an inconsolable Bepa crying under a towel or Dina/Zeljko googly eyes than a trite non-substantive interview.

Sania On Track

 

I may have spoke too soon about Sania's preparation for 2009.  Sounds like that spiral thing is working:

Sania Mirza, who until three months ago was struggling to grip a glass of water in her right hand, is back to striking her dreaded forehand with military firepower.
...

The Hyderabadi has been hitting the ball for almost a month now at rigorous training sessions, lasting up to two hours.

During the pre-season camp at the Tennis Village here on Thursday, she showed that if anything, she's perhaps hitting the ball harder than before.

Playing under the keen gaze of her father Imran, Sania, considerably leaner and moving a shade a quicker, has regained the full movement of her wrist. She's also able to hold firm when necessary. Both functions had been lost for a good part of the summer when her forehand looked frayed and her tennis pedestrian.

Oh How Soon We Forget

Bonnie Ford reviews the Boys of 2008.  It's generally fine but how do you do a review of 2008 without including something on Hot Crazy Elf Train?   That's like writing up the ladies and not mentioning Dinara.  Loved the Marat quotes though.

Stan Wawrinka as Most Improved?  Uh, no.

Also (and I'm not one to defend Fed) Fed did not run over to the Djoko box and snap "Shut up."  He was standing on that side of the court between serves when he said it. 

Facts are important.

"Run, Running All The Time, Running To The Future..."

While her smiling compatriot is sucking face with her boyfriend on the tennis courts of Mallorca, JJ's putting in the solitary hard time in Mexico, training for the upcoming season. 

You know how we say the tennis season is a marathon?  Yeah, JJ seems to be taking that literally:

Given the fact she will be defending her number one WTA rankings position in 2009, Jankovic will need to be in pristine physical condition. To aid her in the process, Jelena is accompanied in San Luis by former Mexican marathon runner German Silva.

- “The training process is rigorous and it contains many different exercises which are devised to increase strength, stamina and speed. I run a few kilometres every day and since I find it the most difficult of all tests, the coach has found me company – marathon runner German Silva. He has an outstanding record in marathon races around the globe. He came sixth in the Olympic marathon in 1996, and he has won the New York marathon two times – in 1994 and 1995. We run together and it’s somewhat easier with someone at my side,” Jelena reports from the training camp of US swimmer Michael Phelps.

Nice to see she's working on her fitness.  But what part of her fitness regime requires her to go running with elves:

She looks like a giant!

But don't worry.  It hasn't been all work and no play for our glittery #1.  She took some vacation time off to spend with her hunky beau too:

“Pristine sandy beaches, exotic surroundings and the people I love near me are quite enough to recharge my batteries for the new challenges. Mango juice, early morning coffees, beach strolls are all the little things that make me happy and relieve of pressure we tennis players are under. Now I’ve had to put it all behind me.” Said Jelena Jankovic about the holidays she spent with her boyfriend Mladjan Janovic.

Move Over Yuri, There's A New Dog Down Under

Looks like Bernard Tomic, Australia's equivalent of Andy Murray, has some crazy parent issues:

THE father of Australia's brightest prospect Bernard Tomic has accused tournament officials of rigging draws after ordering the prodigy from the court during a match in Perth.

The 16-year-old, considered the best player of his age in the world, forfeited a second-round match in a senior pro-circuit tournament on Thursday after his father John complained the umpire was refusing to call foot-faults against his opponent Marinko Matosevic.

"There were 15 umpires sitting there just eating and drinking, so they should have put more umpires on the court, but they didn't," Tomic said.

"How can Bernard play when he does not have protection from the umpires? Bernard is the best prospect in the world and for Australia. He could play Davis Cup. But they (the umpires) don't want to do honest things by him on the court."

The bizarre default means Tomic, who has caused Tennis Australia officials disciplinary concerns at least twice in the past two years, faces potential sanctions from the International Tennis Federation, which is investigating the incident.

Secure The Chairs And Keep The Spill Kit Nearby

Marat has confirmed he will play Hopman Cup with Dina.  Meanwhile, Serena says she won't play due to a hamstring injury she suffered at the YEC, which still hasn't healed.  Uh...I thought she pulled a stomach muscle at the YEC.  But whatever. 

ReRe will be replaced by Meghan Shaughnessy.  Is she still with that insane coach who almost drove ALG out of the game?  I didn't even know she was still playing.

"Spread Your Wings And Prepare To Fly"

Baby E continues her "Don't Call Me Baby" campaign by posing
for Sportet & Style L'equipe. 


I've decided that I'm super jealous of Baby E's hair.  It always looks great.

Haven't I seen this pic before?
 

Can we all agree the kid always looks better smiling?  She's the anti-Pova.

And just for good measure, the French prove that even they can fuck shit up with Photoshop:


WHO THE EFF IS THAT?

 

Friendship Rule #7: Don't Sue Your Friend's Wife.

This is nutty:

Just weeks after splitting from his client, Andre Agassi's former agent and longtime friend has filed a lawsuit against the retired tennis star's wife, Steffi Graf.

Sports agent Perry Rogers filed the lawsuit Friday in Clark County District Court. The suit claims Graf, also a former tennis star, owes $50,000 to Rogers and his Alliance Sports Management Company for services outlined in a 2002 agreement.

Graf declined to comment through a spokesman. Agassi released a statement saying he was "saddened and disappointed" by the lawsuit.

Rogers and Agassi, who met as children in Las Vegas, announced the end of their business relationship in October. Both described the parting as friendly.

Rogers long had served as Agassi's manager, agent and lawyer, as well as president of Las Vegas-based Agassi Enterprises.

The lawsuit claims Rogers also represented Graf. It says Graf agreed to pay Rogers' company 15 percent of all business ventures once an investment account had reached $20 million. Graf stopped paying Rogers' after the October split with Agassi, the suit claims.

Rogers and his attorney, Donald Campbell, did not immediately return phone calls for comment.

"I remain hopeful that we will be able to resolve our business issues with minimal damage to our families and mutual friends," Agassi said in the statement.

Perry Rogers always seemed like a bit of a schmuck to me.  Something about him just didn't seems shady.  You'll recall earlier this year he was voted off the ATP Board of Directors by the Players' Council, then he split from managing Andre.  Now the guy is suing Steffi?  For $50,000?

This dude is an idiot. 

I'm Sure Adidas Will Photoshop These Eventually

 
More Ana/Fernando adorableness from Palma Racket in Mallorca last week.  Adidas has got to be loving this.

Nando seems like a really good hugger.  Baby E not so much.

Heh.  That's what boy toys are for. 

Not sure if he's whispering sweet nothings or nibbling, but Baby E is giggling (shocker!) nonetheless.

Do fleece sweatpants EVER look good on anyone?  This picture looks like it was taken in the early 80s.

 
Sometimes Baby E looks like his kid sister.  This is one of those times.

She so digs his cheddar.  I wonder how Scotty feels about all this.

Still, Tennis Wub is adorable.

(Pics from WTA Women's Tennis Blog)

 

Pic This: Yeah, They're Totally Not Dating

Baby E watches her Not Boyfriend do his thing in a exhibition today.
(Thanks again, Kiki!)

First Base! Whoo!

Pics of Ana picking up Fernando in Mallorca.

 

Screw the haters.  They're adorable.

(Pics from Zimbio.com.  Thanks to Kiki!)

Totally Random Crap In The WTA Rulebook

No doubt that there's going to be some weird stuff in 450 pages of WTA Rules.  Here were some that made me laugh out loud:

• Patches?  We Don't Need No Stinkin' Patches -- Apparently those black Sony Ericsson WTA Tour patches are mandatory at all WTA events.  If you don't wear one you have to "compensate" the WTA by providing additional promotional appearances AND carry around a WTA water bottle or towel during the event (weird).  Violating this policy could lead to fines of up to $50k.  For not wearing a patch???  Ridiculous.

• Smoking or Non-Smoking -- "Except where prohibited by law, smoking shall not be permitted within the lower level of seating around the courts."  What in the hail does that even mean?  That's some of the worst drafting I've ever seen.

• A Regular Mango A Go-Go With A Shot of Femme Boost, Please -- "A smoothie and juice bar form an ideal recovery beverage."  Seriously, this is actually a standalone paragraph in the rulebook.  The rulebook doesn't say it's mandatory for tourneys to provide smoothies and juice bars, nor is it even recommending that tourneys have them.  The WTA just really likes Jamba Juice and they're trying to spread the word.

• Condiments of the World, Unite! -- "A selection of international condiments (e.g., jam, honey, peanut butter, vegemite, salsa, ketchup, curry sauce, soy sauce and sweet chili sauce)."  America? Check.  Britain?  Check.  Australia? Check.  Mexico? Check. India?  Check.  Asia? Check.

• Does Dubai Have HoJos? -- "Each Tournament should use its best effort to arrange for discounted or complimentary accommodations. If the official hotel rate for a double room (2 persons in room) excluding taxes and breakfast at Premier Tournaments is higher than US$150 per day ($100 at International Tournaments), then an alternative player hotel must be provided with a rate of $150 per day for a double room ($100 at International Tournaments) or less."  $150 bucks?!?!  I have NEVER stayed at a hotel for less than $150 bucks these days.  Luckily, tournaments can apply for a waiver "depending upon local considerations which make compliance with such standards impractical and unrealistic."  I'm pretty sure that's called EVERYWHERE.

• Purell Me -- "Each Tournament must provide spill kits, which are maintained by court services, for the proper clean up and disposal of biohazardous material on each court and hand sanitizer which is available for use by Ball Persons following handling of used towels."  Has anyone ever seen a ball kid use a hand sanitizer?

• "If You're Gonna Spew, Spew In This" -- "If a player is vomiting, the Chair Umpire should stop play if vomit has spilled onto the court, or if the player requests medical evaluation.  If the player requests medical evaluation, then the PHCP should determine if the player has a treatable medical condition.  If vomiting is continuous, the PHCP may advise that continued play is detrimental to the player’s health. In that case, the Supervisor/Referee may retire the player from the match.  If vomit has spilled onto the court, play should not resume until the vomit spill has been cleaned appropriately."

• Don't Quit Your Day Job -- One of the WTA Tour Tournament Class Board Representativees is Peter-Michael Reichel.  His e-mail address is p.m.reichel@matchmaker.at.  Seriously.

Oh, Dinara. So Awkward.

Footage from the Russian Tennis Awards is finally up on YouTube. And boy, it does not disappoint.

Dina, awkwardly receiving her award. In addition to working on her serve over the off-season, she also needs to practice walking and standing in heels. Yikes.

Dina's definitely channeling the Jersey Girl look, what with the amazing gum chomping. Lena of course is elegant as always.

The womb from which Crazy Hot Heads were born received the Coach of the Year award. And the video accompanying her award has lots of Baby Marat and Dina footage. And Dina looks so adorably proud of Moms.

Pic This: Come On, How Can You Hate this Guy?

(Pic from hcFoo's blog)

 

They Have Air Hockey In Spain? Color Me Surprised.

FeLo and Fernando on some Tonight Show clone on Monday night.  Unintelligible (to me) adorableness ensues!

Loved the awesome teamwork during air hockey.  They immediately had a strategy and everything.

Sigh.  Love.

Rules Were Made To Be Broken. Not These Ones Though.

The 2009 WTA Rulebook has been released and it thankfully answers a lot of my Roadmap questions, even if I had to sludge through 450 pages to find them.

But first, a small rant.  WTF with the renaming of the tournament classifications?  Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, and Tier IV was fine.  But now everything's been changed to Premier Mandatory (Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing) Premier 5 (Dubai, Rome, Cincy, Toronto, Tokyo), Premier $700 (remaining Premier tourneys), and International tournaments. 

A.  Noy.  Ing.

Anyway, here are some of the interesting tidbits:

• Rankings Points: They've upped the amount of points available for tourney wins.  Grand Slams have been doubled to 2000 points for the winner, Mandatories are 1000 points, Premier ($2M) are 800, Premier ($600k) are 470, and Internationals are 280.
  
  
• Definition of Top 10 Player: The “Top 10 List” shall consist of the 10 highest-ranked singles players as of the WTA Tour Rankings produced immediately following the previous year’s Sony Ericsson Championships (“Top 10 Players”).  This is significant for tourney entry rules.  I think it's interesting that the Top 10 Player list won't fluxuate through the year.  I'm not sure this is a great system for those "bubble" players, i.e, #7-14.
  
  
• Bonus Pool: Top 10 players are eligible for "bonus" money for fulfilling her commitments and ending the year in the Top 10.  The bonus pool schedule is pretty fat.  If you fulfill your obligations and end the year at #1, you're eligible for a $1M bonus.


• Top 10 Player Commitments
  
  1. Must play the Grand Slams, all four Premier Mandatories, four Premier 5s, and two Premier $700s, for a total of 14 tournaments.
  2. May play one International tournament in each half of the tour year
  3. Top 10 players cannot play in an International tournament during a week when a Premier Mandatory or Premier 5 tournament is scheduled.
• WTA Guaranteed Player Commitment:  For the top Premier tourneys, 7 of the Top 10 players must commit.  For the non-top Premier tourneys, 2 of the Top 6 or 1 of the Top 6 and 2 of the top 12 must commit.  If the WTA doesn't meet the commitment requirements they have to pay the tournaments some cash.


• Suspensions: A Top 10 Player who, for any reason, fails to compete at a Premier Mandatory or Premier 5 Tournament that is part of her Commitment will be required to either (1) Attend the Missed Tournament and perform ACES activities (i.e., promotional activities), or (2) Perform ACES activities on one of three alternate dates outside of the Missed Tournament.  A player is excused if the reason for missing the tournament is an extended injury. 
  
  If a player refuses or fails to perform her duties under either option, she will be fined and suspended from competing in all WTA Tour Tournaments through the next two Premier Tournament weeks, inclusive of any International Tournaments scheduled in that time period.  In addition to the mandatory zero ranking points for the Missed Tournament, a player will also receive mandatory zero ranking points for any Commitment Tournaments missed as a result of the suspension and such mandatory zero ranking points shall count on the player’s ranking as one of her best 16 Tournament results.  In otherwords, your ranking is fucked.


• No Universal Health Care: As previously discussed, players get up to 6 "free" medical time outs for the year.  After that they have to pay a "service fee" of up to $300 per MTO.


• On Court Coaching: During televised matches, microphones will be positioned to capture on-court coaching and player responses, which may be used for live television broadcasts.  Coaches will also be individually mic'ed.  If the coach turns off the mic the player and coach will be prohibited from using on-court coaching for the remainder of the tournament and the next tournament.  Coaches may be called once per set (at the changeover or end of the set) or during an opponent's MTO or bathroom break. 


• The Peppermint Patty/Bepa Rule: Only conversations related to coaching (e.g., strategic, tactical and emotional advice) shall be broadcasted.  Conversations relating to injuries or personal matters and extended emotional outbursts shall not be aired.  In other words, none of the juicy stuff.  Then again, I don't know how they're going to enforce this rule in Europe where they don't cut away during the changeovers.  The Rule Book says broadcasters can broadcast the conversation live.  So it looks like it's the U.S. viewers that are SOL.


• Misplaced Priorities: The maximum fine for unsportsmanlike conduct in $10k.  But the maximum fine for violating Dress or equipment rules is $25k.  Go figure.
  

Cat Fight Down At The Farm

JJ, Serena, Venus, and Masha are confirmed for the Bank of the West Classic held at Stanford University from July 27 to August 2nd.

Wait.  A cat fight in my own backyard?  I'm so there.

For anyone else in the Yay Area planning to go, they're offering special holiday pricing on early round tickets.

Nole, Inc. Opens Up A Creatively Named Restaurant

Nole and his family are expanding their burgeoning restaurant and tennis empire by opening a restaurant in Belgrade called "Novak". 

You know, just so you don't forget who's putting that Argentinian, Spanish, and Italian fusion food on your table.

 

Is it just me or does it look straight out of the Crate and Barrel catalog?

But the best part I save for last:

Remember, kids.  There is no sex in the champagne room.

You can see more pics over at Great Tennis Photos here and here.

Is JJ Indecisive, Tardy, Scared, or Crazy?

The entry list for the Medibank International Sydney tourney is out (unfortunately, sans video) and there is one notable name missing: JJ.

The Glitter Queen had originally assured the tournament that she would be playing, but for whatever reason she hasn't committed to the tournament:

Organisers issued a statement on Wednesday saying Jankovic had revealed she was still finalising her playing schedule for the start of 2009 and she would not appear on the official acceptance list to be announced this week.

Reports in October had said she would headline the strong women's field for the Sydney tournament which starts on January 11 in the lead-up to the Australian Open.

Organisers said Jankovic could still seek a wildcard entry.

"We had some good signs from Jelena early on and she indicated to me in New York that she was looking forward to returning to Sydney," said tournament director Craig Watson.

"Players often end up re-arranging their schedules a number of times and in this instance, Jelena has not finalised her plans for 2009 yet.

"If Jelena does decide that she would like to play in Sydney, then we would certainly consider her for a wildcard."

Considering she's not confirmed for any other tournaments in Australia leading up to the AO and the fact that we know she'll play any and all tournaments on the schedule, this seems really weird.  Did she miss the entry deadline?  Is she trying to avoid the extremely strong field in Sydney?  Would she prefer a wildcard to the weak field in Brisbane with all her fellow Serbs?  It's all really weird to me.

Official Medibank International Sydney line-up (men’s)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA    (no.6)
Gilles Simon FRA        (no.7)
David Nalbandian ARG    (no.11)
Igor Andreev RUS        (no.19)
Tomas Berdych CZE        (no.20)
Tommy Robredo ESP    (no.21)
Dmitry Tursunov RUS    (no.22)
Mardy Fish USA        (no.24)
Richard Gasquet FRA    (no.25)
Radek Stepanek CZE    (no.27)
Feliciano Lopez ESP        (no.30)
Paul-Henri Mathieu FRA    (no.31)
Rainer Schuettler GER    (no.33)
Jurgen Melzer AUT        (no.34)
Andreas Seppi ITA        (no.35)
Mario Ancic CRO        (no.36)
Jarkko Nieminen FIN    (no.37)
Michael Llodra FRA        (no.40)
Simone Bolelli ITA        (no.41)
Lleyton Hewitt AUS        (no.67) Wildcard

Official Medibank International Sydney line-up (women’s)

Serena Williams USA    (no.2)
Dinara Safina RUS        (no.3)
Elena Dementieva RUS    (no.4)
Vera Zvonareva RUS        (no.7)
Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS    (no.8)
Agnieszka Radwanska POL    (no.10)
Nadia Petrova RUS        (no.11)
Caroline Wozniacki DEN    (no.12)
Victoria Azarenka BLR    (no.15)
Alize Cornet FRA        (no.16)
Marion Bartoli FRA        (no.17)
Dominika Cibulkova SVK    (no.19)
Katarina Srebotnik SLO    (no. 20)
Daniela Hantuchova SVK    (no.21)
Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP(no.22)
Na Li CHN            (no.23)
Amelie Mauresmo FRA    (no.24)
Sybille Bammer AUT        (no.26)
Kaia Kanepi EST        (no.27)
Maria Kirilenko RUS        (no.29)
Ai Sugiyama JPN        (no.31)
Alisa Kleynanova RUS    (no.32)
Sorana Cirstea ROU        (no.36)
Shuai Peng CHN       (no.40)

Once a Showman, Always a Showman

Yup, that's Nole singing and dancing when he was seven. See? Even the Devil is cute when he's a kid.

You Can't Stop The Wascally Wabbit

Your ATP Play of the Year:

If you had to sum up Rafa in one play, this is pretty much it.  The speed, the strength, the slide, and of course, the celebration:

Not to mention the rippling biceps and tight tight tight pants.

I'm Such A Sucker for Lists

Ravi Ubha at ESPN.com with an A-Z summary of the haps in 2008. 

If he really was looking for a "Z" couldn't he have given Bepa a shout out?

UPDATED: Adidas Plays Matchmaker

Fernando has torn himself from the side of Baby E and is now in Port Aventura for an exhibition.  He posed with what I can only assume is Woody Woodpecker, which is kind of meta considering that was the nickname of some Ana's forum posters gave him. 

But he was asked about Baby E.  As is well documented here, I don't speak Spanish so I have no idea what he's saying.  But according to some posters in her forum, this is a rough translation of the article accompanying the video clip:

Tennis player Fernando Verdasco did not confirm or deny his relationship with also tennis player Ana Ivanovic.  “We still know each other very little", he made clear during the inauguration of Port Aventura's new season in Tarragona.

The sportsman admitted that he gets along very well with Ivanovic, but that he only knows her for three months, “still I haven’t got time to realize what has happened between us. The press confirmed our relation before we said anything.”

In fact, when the “supposed first declarations” of their relationship went out, Verdasco asked Ivanovic directly if she had said anything to the press.  “She didn’t say anything. There were many people who asked her about us because they had seen us together in the China Open. Later I believe that her manager said in a press conference that we had known ourselves and that we were getting along very well, but no more ".  “The press had confirmed it before we said anyhing ", he continued. In addition, Verdasco and Ivanovic like “to go slow” and they want to know each other better before saying anything. 

Nevertheless, Verdasco revealed how they meet: in an Adidas's dinner, brand that supports both of them.

And what do they speak about when they are together?  “We are not always speaking about tennis. We have a very good relation and we are happy that we know each other ", he concluded.

So get to work, Spanish speakers (Kiki!).  Anything else worth mentioning from the video?

UPDATED: The Never Failing Kiki answers the Bat Phone:

This is the same press conference that I saw yesterday in Corazon de Otoño. I'll start out with this one. He said that Ana was one of the best, if not THE best, person he has ever met. That she always had a smile on her face, and that was something that made him feel happier, feel like everything is much better. In this vídeo he also said that if he was not a tennis player, he might not have had the chance to ever meet her. That they went out to dinner with the respective teams, and got along very well.

This new vídeo is from a different part of the press conference (God, spanish reporters can get tiresome with so many private questions!). They don't really show the question, but I believe they ask him to confirm their relationship. He starts out by saying that they only know each other for 3 months, that they still didn't have time to see how everything will go. That people are going too fast with this.. Then he says that when the press published things that Ana had supposedly said, that they were together and that he made her very happy, he imediately asked her about it.. and that she said no. (laughs from everyone at this moment). He continues by saying that she told him she had not said anything at all. There were lots of people asking his agent if they were together, because of them being together in the China Open and Doha. I don't understand what he says at this point (not the spanish, but what he means).. but it's something along the lines that her manager informed people that they had met at the US Open and that they got along very well, and no more info. And then all the press alredy started to say they were together. That they didn't even have time to say they were together, that the press was already confirming it before they could even say anything. That they were asking him something that they still didn't have time to be completely sure of, that both of them like to take things slowly, get to know each other very well first, and as he had said previously, they still didn't have enough time to see how everything will go.

Then the reporters ask him if Rafa introduced them (everything comes down to Rafa!). He laughs and denies it. He then says that they got to know each other because they have the same clothing sponsor and that Ana's coach also coaches him sometimes. And at the US Open, they had a dinner with all the Adidas group. He mentions that he knew her before, but only by saying hi and goodbye. At this dinner they got to know each other better, and from then on they started to talk more and more often.

He is asked about what is the topic of conversation between them, and he says they do talk about tennis, about their careers, that it makes it easier that they are tennis players. But they also talk about life, about everything.. that they are not all day tennis tennis tennis. He says that they have great relations and that they are both very very happy to have met each other.

The last part of the vídeo is about a rumour os a relationship between Feliciano López and a spanish TV host. He says that he thinks Feliciando is single and happy to be single. haha But they should ask him, since he doesn't like to talk about his private life, imagine talking about others.

All together now:  THANKS, KIKI!

Since When Does Agi Have An "Ever Present Smile"?

Matt Cronin previews 2009 for the ladies:

1. Jelena Jankovic: Let's begin with the positives: Jankovic became the first Serbian in history to end the year at No. 1 and really went hard after the top ranking following Wimbledon. Even though she frequently complains about nagging injuries, she shows up week after week and punches the time clock, mostly with a positive attitude. She is by no means a standout No. 1, but she's a terrific defensive player who can capably mix in high-octane offense. Jankovic does have the tools to win her first major and could do so in 2009, but she cannot afford to play scared at crunch time like she did in Paris and New York.


2. Serena Williams: For those who have closely followed the younger Williams' career, 2008 is the season where she deserved the heartiest pats on the back, as she drove herself harder than she ever has in order to snare another major title. After eight months of fits and starts and some extremely tough losses, all her hard work paid off when she won her third U.S. Open title. Williams all but packed it in after that, but with a continued commitment she should win her 10th Slam in '09. If she does, she will all but have sewed up the unofficial title of being the best player of an extremely good generation.
   
   
3. Dinara Safina: A tremendous four-month stretch that included runs to the French Open and Olympic finals and titles in Berlin, Los Angeles, Montreal showed that in tip-top shape, the tall Russian is capable of great things. But while she picked up her chin at some of the year's biggest events, she also fell short, which indicates that she's not bubbling with self-belief yet. Without question, she has the on-court tools to go a step further in 2009. Now it's up to Safina to take a page from her Slam-winning brother Marat's book and close the deal.
   
   
4. Elena Dementieva:  She finally achieved one of her biggest goals by winning the Olympic gold medal, but at the age of 27, the fleet Russian likely doesn't have more than two years to meet her other two goals, reaching No. 1 and winning a Slam. Dementieva showed in Beijing that she is capable of both accomplishments, but she has to put her nose and mind to the grindstone for an extended period next year if she doesn't want to retire a barely decorated competitor.
   
   
5. Ana Ivanovic:  The sweet-as-pie Serbian roared out of the 2008 gates, reaching the Aussie Open final, winning Indian Wells and then her first major at the French Open. Then, it appeared that she had finally reached her potential and would become a more consistent player. But after sustaining a thumb injury prior to Wimbledon, she collapsed mentally and wasn't really heard from until the end of the year, and even then, she did little to impress. There is no doubt that by improving her serve and coming to net more that Ivanovic could be a primetime contender at every Slam, but as bright as she is off court, she doesn't play smart nearly enough. Ivanovic must open her mind to new strategic possibilities in 2009.
   
   
6. Venus Williams:  It's a virtual toss-up between Venus and her sister Serena for Player of the Year honors, but by winning her fifth Wimbledon title at the season-ending WTA Championships in Doha, Venus grabbed two of the year's six biggest crowns, which no other player was able to do. Week to week, the 28-year-old is no longer a dominant player, but when she's healthy and employing her spiced-up net attack, she's as good, if not better, than any player on the planet. But it would be nice to see her win another hard-court Slam, a feat that has eluded her since 2001.
   
   
7. Vera Zvonareva:  One of five Russians in the top 10, Zvonareva rediscovered her love of competition and fought as hard as she ever has in her career in 2008. Somewhat introverted, she has no love of the biggest stages, but she's a ferocious inside-the-baseliner and can take down any elite competitor when she's not being touted as the favorite. Next year will tell the tale as to whether she can withstand the pressure of being an elite player again.
   
   
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova:  A truly disappointing year for the 2004 U.S. Open champ, who ended the year without a title and then waved goodbye to her longtime coaches at Spain's Sanchez-Casal academy. Now she has gone back to her Russian roots by returning home in the offseason and hiring Olga Morozova to coach her. Hopefully, Morozova will be able to pull the self-confidence that Kuznetsova has been sorely lacking out of her student's stubborn head.
   
   
9. Maria Sharapova:  A season which began brilliantly with her third Grand Slam title at the Aussie Open, an astounding first appearance on the Russian Fed Cup team and her first clay-court title in Amelia Island ended miserably when Sharapova suffered a tear in her right rotator cuff and was unable to compete past the first week of August. The only positive that might arrive from being unable to serve during much of the fall is that she'll be forced to improve her all-around game. But if the world's most endorsable women's athlete doesn't come back at full strength or very near to it and is unable dominate in her service games, she'll be hard-pressed to snare the No. 1 ranking, or even win another major. She's an incredible fighter and manages the court better than she used, but she's for all intents and purposes a power player and given that she's not particularly fast or durable, it's hard to see Sharapova remaining a super-elite player by contesting long, exhausting rallies from the baseline. But if her shoulder does heal, grant her another Slam title in 2009.
   
   
10. Agnieszka Radwanska:  The only teenager in the top 10, this creative and scrappy Pole is much tougher inside than her ever-present smile would indicate. She doesn't have huge overall weapons, but Radwanska plays smart, is very steady and understands her weaponry. At this point it doesn't look like she's Slam-winning material, but if she can grow in confidence and hit out on key shots, a visit to the top five isn't out of the question in 2009.

You Can't Have a Gun Show Without Guns. I Would Like My Tickets Refunded, Please.

Rich at DownTheLine has the previews of Rafa and Fed's Nike duds for the AO.  Here we go again with the attempt to sleeve up Rafa.  Just let it go, guys.  Let the dude show em off.

That said, I do love the shoes:

I would so rock those at Ritual Coffee in the Mission on a Saturday morning blogging date.  Radness.

As for Fed, it's typical Fed.  NIke will go with a purple (the color of royalty, get it?) and white color scheme.  And the shoes are crisp and nice:

I do like the shorts though, which have some accent coloring down the front crease and the length is...Augh.  Seriously, I tried to say something nice about Fed this time.  But this shit is boring boring boring.  Classy, but boring.

See the rest of the pics at Down The Line here and here.

No Clay For You!

Fed posted his 2009 Schedule today, and most notably he is only playing two clay tournaments in advance of RG: Madrid and Rome.

Overall, I think it's a smart move.  No need to tire himself out with additional tournaments during the most grueling part of the season.  He wouldn't want to lose his legs before Wimbledon, that's for sure.

Adidas' Warehouse or Madame Tussaud's? You Make The Call.

Following up on the few pictures leaked last week, here's the full lineup of Adidas' men's and women's lines for the Australian Open.  Why they felt the need to dress a bunch of wax sculptures instead of using actual athletes is beyond me, but hey, I'm not in marketing.

Nole Smurf!

Wait, didn't Adidas already do bumblebee yellow?  Did they already run out of ideas?

  
WHERE'S MY SISTER!!!  WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER!!!

Aw, Fernando and Ernie get some Adidas love!

Augh.  Whatever.

I really like the color choices and the one thing I really like about Adidas gear is that it's actually wearable.  It LOOKS LIKE sportswear that's easy to wear and sweat in.  So I give them props on that.  I do have one complaint:  WHERE'S GILLES?!?

Jesus, How Cold Is It In Mallorca?

Fernando and Ana at the Palma Racket in Mallorca, where Ana is currently training. 









 
She's awfully smiley and relaxed, no?

(Pics from WTA Women's Tennis Photos)

OMG, You Guys, Fernando's Adorable.

Nice article on Gil Reyes, Andre Agassi's trainer and current trainer for the Adidas Player Development play (you know, the one that supplies Baby E with Sven).

Anyway, check this anecdote out:

Recent Davis Cup hero Fernando Verdasco, who came to train with Reyes ahead of the U.S. Open, was quite starstruck when Agassi turned up one day to take part in the session and offer encouragement.

Reyes relates that after Agassi left the room, Verdasco turned to him and said, "I need to tell you a story. Growing up in my hometown in Spain, I would go to the mall and I would want to buy all Agassi clothes. And they would say, 'Well, we're sold out -- here's some of the others.' And I would say, 'No, I don't want the others, I want Agassi clothes.' And I would walk away very sad."

"Does he know that?" Reyes asked.

"No, I'm too embarrassed to tell him," Verdasco replied.

"OK, I'll tell him," Reyes said. Agassi was amused and touched to hear the story afterward.

When Verdasco clinched the Davis Cup for Spain last month, Agassi visited Reyes at the gym and waxed enthusiastic about the victory. "He had a big grin, and he says, 'Way to go, Fernando,'" Reyes said. "That's just the way it works. Once you connect, you're part of our family."

Verdasco, already sold on the process, will return to Vegas this month for another stint. (No, girlfriend Ivanovic hasn't also signed up.)

Shit.  Now I feel bad for calling him "Dick in a Box".  Argh.

Please Tell Me They're Broadcasting the Copa Argentina. Awk-ward.

ESPN rounds up the off-season exhibitions:

Malaga Masters, Dec. 5-7
Almost canceled after Nadal pulled out because of his knee, the six-man event in Malaga, Spain, is going ahead with Carlos Moya, Feliciano Lopez, David Ferrer, Gael Monfils and Marat Safin.

Copa Argentina, Dec. 11-14
Spanish and Argentine players will regather about a month after the Davis Cup final for this annual exhibition event in Buenos Aires. Juan Martin del Potro, David Nalbandian, Feliciano Lopez, Carlos Moya, Juan Monaco, Jose Acasuso, Agustin Calleri, Guillermo Canas and Juan Ignacio Chela are taking part.

Rock n' Racquets, Dec. 12-14
Andy Roddick, Serena Williams, John Isner and Caroline Wozniacki in a three-city tour through Louisville, Ky., Columbia, S.C., and Knoxville, Tenn., to benefit the Andy Roddick Foundation.

Infinite Energy Atlanta Slam, Dec. 13
James Blake, Sam Querrey and the Bryan brothers will play in a fundraiser for the Georgia Tennis Foundation.

Mardy's Tennis and Jake's Music Fest, Dec. 13
An exhibition between Mardy Fish and Andy Murray is the focus of the charity event in Vero Beach, Fla., created by Fish.

Capitala World Tennis Championship, Jan. 1-3
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick and James Blake all have signed up for the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

I can't wait for the Copa Argentina.  Come on, that's the cream of the crop, baby.

ESPN Deportes Knows Where It's At

Rafa will be on the cover of ESPN The Mag, Deportes edition, in December.  Here's an advance look at the cover.  Rafa is the first male tennis player to ever grace the cover of any ESPN magazines.  Sorry, Fed.

Apparently you can buy the covers, framed or unframed, here.

I Didn't Know Baggy Had Been To "The Very Top Of The Grand Slam Mountain"

The full tourney line-up for the Brisbane International tournament has been announced.  And thankfully it's accompanied by a hilarious video.  I can't embed it here so click here to go to the site and watch the video.

Loved Nole's attempt to "speak Australian"

Here's the lineup:

Official Brisbane International line-up (men’s)
Djokovic, Novak SRB (no. 3)
Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried FRA (no. 6)
Verdasco, Fernando ESP (no. 16)
Soderling, Robin SWE (no. 17)
Berdych, Tomas CZE (no. 20)
Fish, Mardy USA (no. 24)
Gasquet, Richard FRA (no. 25)
Stepanek, Radek CZE (no. 27)
Mathieu, Paul-Henri FRA (no. 31)
Melzer, Jurgen AUT (no. 34)
Anicic, Mario CRO (no. 36)
Nieminen, Jarkko FIN (no. 37)
Querrey, Sam USA (no. 39)
Llodra, Michael FRA (no. 40)
Benneteau, Julien FRA (no. 43)
Kunitsyn, Igor RUS (no. 47)
Ginepri, Robby USA (no. 51)
Gulbis, Ernests LAT (no. 53)
Gicquel, Marc FRA (no. 54)
Ferrero, Juan Carlos ESP (no. 55)
Dent, Taylor USA (no. 56)
Serra, Florent FRA (no. 59)
Calleri, Agustin ARG (no. 60)
Darcis, Steve BEL (no. 61)
Nishikori, Kei JPN (no. 63)
Baghdatis, Marcos CYP (no. 99) Wildcard

Official Brisbane International line-up (women’s)
Ivanovic, Ana SRB (no. 5)
Azarenka, Victoria BLR (no. 15)
Bartoli, Marion FRA (no. 17)
Hantuchova, Daniela SVK (no. 21)
Li, Na CHN (no. 23)
Mauresmo, Amelie FRA (no. 24)
Bammer, Sybille AUT (no. 26)
Kanepi, Kaia EST (no. 27)
Kirilenko, Maria RUS (no. 29)
Schiavone, Francesca ITA (no. 30)
Sugiyama, Ai JPN (no. 31)
Kleybanova, Alisa RUS (no. 32)
Bondarenko, Alona UKR (no. 33)
Peng, Shuai CHN (no. 40)
Errani, Sara ITA (no. 42)
Benesova, Iveta CZE (no. 43)
Kvitova, Petra CZE (no. 44)
Pironkova, Tsvetana K BUL (no. 45)
Niculescu, Monica ROU (no. 47)
Govortsova, Olga BLR (no. 49)
Stosur, Samantha AUS (no. 52)
Garbin, Tathiana ITA (no. 55)
Arvidsson, Sofia SWE (no. 56)

Is it just me or is the men's line-up way stronger than the women's?  That said, it looks to be a nice little warm-up tourney for Baby E.  Hopefully she won't get distracted by the fact that her man will be there, too.  I guess this will be our first chance to see Cheering!Ana.